Giovanna Fletcher has opened up about "fulfilling her dream" of interviewing the Duchess of Cambridge on her podcast, Happy Mum, Happy Baby. Talking to host Christine Lampard on ITV's Lorraine on Thursday, the 35-year-old revealed her chat with Kate was just like speaking to any other mum. "That's what the podcast's all about," she said. "It doesn't matter who you are, what you have, what you do - there are so many parts of motherhood that we can all relate to, and it's a complete leveller."
WATCH: Kate Middleton meets Giovanna Fletcher as she visits London nursery
Asked whether she was nervous in the lead-up to the chat, Giovanna said: "From day one, yes. The week before, I literally wasn't sleeping. Because she'd been on my wish list for so long, and my dream guest, it's one thing to actually want someone on and then to get them and go, 'Oh my gosh, that comes with so much responsibility.'
READ: 7 things we learnt from Kate Middleton's podcast with Giovanna Fletcher
"But as soon as I started planning out the episode... and what I do every time is I map it out, write loads of questions and then I don't look at the paper at all and just enjoy the chat, just kind of get lost in it. But as soon as I started remembering that I was just talking to another mum, everything else sort of made sense."
© Photo: ITVGiovanna Fletcher has shared her thoughts on speaking with Kate
The pair spoke about Kate's experience of motherhood in the Duchess' first ever podcast interview. Just like the royal, Giovanna is also a doting mother to three young children. "We were talking about lack of sleep - literally, it just gets you, it takes over," she explained. "To have her on… and it's a brilliant time for her, the amount of work she's done in Early Years, and that's the amazing thing about the podcast, is you really understand how passionate she is and how much she cares for the Early Years. She's really wanting to listen to people and what they think."
MORE: Inside Kate Middleton's childhood
The podcast was recorded during the Duchess's visit to a London Early Years Foundation nursery in Stockwell, south London, last month, as part of her work to promote her 5 Big Questions survey on early childhood, which she hopes will help to bring about positive, lasting change for generations to come.
© Photo: Getty ImagesKate opened up about her mum guilt on the podcast
One of the many topics covered included mum guilt. Asked whether she struggles with it, Kate replied: "Yes absolutely – and anyone who doesn't as a mother is actually lying! Yep – all the time, yep – and you know even this morning, coming to the nursery visit here – George and Charlotte were like 'Mummy how could you possibly not be dropping us off at school this morning?' But no it's a constant challenge."
She added: "You hear it time and time again from mums, even mums who aren't necessarily working and aren't pulled in the directions of having to juggle work life and family life… and always sort of questioning your own decisions and your own judgements and things like that, and I think that starts from the moment you have a baby!"
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